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General => The Campus => Topic started by: Petra93 on August 19, 2018, 12:16:40 AM

Title: Need advice on learning 32-bit programming
Post by: Petra93 on August 19, 2018, 12:16:40 AM
Hi, everyone.  About 20 years ago I joined the MASM Forum for help in learning 16-bit assembly language, which I wanted to use in solving
some problems in number theory, and more recently for tackling the easier problems at the Euler Project website.

Now I would like to learn the essentials of 32- bit assembly language. I have purchased the Daniel Kusswurm book which was
recommended by a Forum member, and I am about to download one of the software packages recommended in its introduction,
specifically Visual Studio Express 2013. I am working with a Dell computer running Windows 7.  I hope someone can advise me on
whether to get the Visual Studio Professional 2013 instead of the other version. Also, I hope that the software includes a debugging
tool analogous to CodeView, which I use for my 16-bit programs.

Any advice or suggestions from members of the Forum would be much appreciated.

Michael
Title: Re: Need advice on learning 32-bit programming
Post by: jj2007 on August 19, 2018, 12:23:26 AM
Michael,

The Kusswurm book is good, but VS for assembly programming is a bad idea. Check Tips & Tricks (http://www.webalice.it/jj2006/Masm32_Tips_Tricks_and_Traps.htm) for essential steps (1-4 is enough for now). There is also a Help and tutorials section.

The Masm32 SDK is a very mature tool, and covers all needs of assembly programming. If you get stuck, members here will help you.
Title: Re: Need advice on learning 32-bit programming
Post by: daydreamer on August 19, 2018, 12:36:41 AM
Hi Michael,welcome to forum :t
you want some number crunching, maybe this would help alot
http://www.ray.masmcode.com/ (http://www.ray.masmcode.com/)
I recommend masm32 and a debugger so you can singlestep fpu code
here are some interesting math threads
http://masm32.com/board/index.php?topic=7313.0 (http://masm32.com/board/index.php?topic=7313.0)
very interesting especially if you endup on Computer science programming they have habit of doing this as exercise
http://masm32.com/board/index.php?topic=7262.0 (http://masm32.com/board/index.php?topic=7262.0)
fast trigo programming thread
http://masm32.com/board/index.php?topic=4118.msg49276#msg49276 (http://masm32.com/board/index.php?topic=4118.msg49276#msg49276)


Title: Re: Need advice on learning 32-bit programming
Post by: Petra93 on September 06, 2018, 04:34:33 AM
Thank you, jj2007, for the excellent advice. I was having real problems with Visual Studio; what I saw on the screen was
usually nothing like what the textbook showed, and I was getting nowhere.

I have downloaded MASM32 SDK and have just copied Tips, Tricks and Traps into my notebook. This document looks like
just what I need to get started.

Michael
Title: Re: Need advice on learning 32-bit programming
Post by: jj2007 on September 19, 2018, 07:16:29 PM
Hi Michael,

I just discovered A Tiny Guide to Programming in 32-bit x86 Assembly Language (https://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~sergey/cs258/tiny-guide-to-x86-assembly.pdf) by Adam Ferrari. Very old but very well written and absolutely valid for 32-bit assembly. For example, on page 15 you'll find a nice explanation of the stack frame. Enjoy ;-)